Business leader + Quantitative easing | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/business/series/business-leader+quantitative-easing
Indexen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015Sun, 02 Aug 2015 21:23:42 GMT2015-08-02T21:23:42Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015The Guardianhttp://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttp://www.theguardian.com
Devaluation and discord as the world’s currencies quietly go to warhttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/25/devaluation-discord-currencies-war-quantitative-easing
As quantitative easing spreads from country to country, investors are left nervous and discouraged: and stagnation follows<p>There is every sign that the European Central Bank’s €1.1&nbsp;trillion stimulus package is going to unleash a long period of beggar-thy-neighbour currency wars. Maybe not quite in the way that wrecked the global economy in the 1930s – triggering retaliatory trade tariffs and sending industrial production spiralling downwards. But enough to dampen the enthusiasm of exporting companies which might be thinking of expanding output.</p><p>This is a war that pits the central banks of the world’s major trading blocs against each other and, as currencies yo-yo in value, creates a nervousness and caution among investors that can create years of stagnation.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/25/devaluation-discord-currencies-war-quantitative-easing">Continue reading...</a>CurrenciesEconomicsQuantitative easingBank of EnglandEuropean UnionEuropean Central BankEuroBusinessDollarClimate changeSerious Fraud OfficeSun, 25 Jan 2015 00:05:30 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/25/devaluation-discord-currencies-war-quantitative-easingPhotograph: Dave Simonds/ObserverThe world looks set for a beggar-thy-neighbour currency battle. Illustration: Dave Simonds for the ObserverPhotograph: Dave Simonds/ObserverThe world looks set for a beggar-thy-neighbour currency battle. Illustration: Dave Simonds for the ObserverGuardian Staff2015-01-25T00:05:30ZDraghi primes his rocket, but could end up shooting Europe in the foothttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/18/draghi-ecb-quantitative-easing-too-late
The ECB boss was forced to make a move on quantitative easing as Switzerland stopped capping the franc, but six years after everyone else tried it, might it be the wrong weapon to use?<p>Mario Draghi, the urbane boss of the European Central Bank, is about to print hundreds of billions of euros to rescue the faltering continental economy. The City expects him to launch his financial bazooka, otherwise known as quantitative easing (QE), on Thursday after the central bank governing council’s monthly meeting.</p><p>His hand was forced last week by events in Zurich, where his Swiss counterpart said the policy of pegging the franc to the euro was no longer tenable. The markets were impatient for QE, the Swiss central bank chief said – they have already waited months for a decision.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/18/draghi-ecb-quantitative-easing-too-late">Continue reading...</a>European Central BankMario DraghiBusinessEconomic policyEurozone crisisEuropean UnionFinancial crisisEuroEuroOilMorrisonsQuantitative easingSun, 18 Jan 2015 00:05:44 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/18/draghi-ecb-quantitative-easing-too-lateGuardian Staff2015-01-18T00:05:44ZPeople power is not enough: it’s the regulator’s job to punish businesseshttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/nov/02/people-power-not-enough-regulator-punish-businesses
Consumers can vote with their feet on shopping trips, but rectifying sytematic wrongdoing is a task for the authorities<p>An insider from the world of business offered his solution last week to the question of how to restore trust in financial markets and big corporations: people power. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/30/justin-king-sainsburys-businesses-debate-paying-tax" title="">Justin King, the former chief executive of Sainsbury’s</a>, said: “There are many businesses that detach themselves from normal rules for periods of time but eventually the consumer catches up and they are forced to change.”</p><p>Really? Could public revulsion have been more effective than government or regulatory action in preventing the latest scandals to cloud Britain’s corporate reputation? Last week <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/30/barclays-sets-aside-500m-pay-forex-rigging-fines" title="">Barclays</a> and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/31/royal-bank-of-scotland-rbs-sets-aside-400m-forex-rigging-fines" title="">Royal Bank of Scotland</a>, two of Britain’s biggest banks, set aside a total of &pound;900m for settlements related to rigging of the foreign exchange market, and the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/29/serious-fraud-office-investigate-tesco" title="">Serious Fraud Office launched a criminal investigation into a misstatement of profit guidance at Tesco</a>.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/nov/02/people-power-not-enough-regulator-punish-businesses">Continue reading...</a>RegulatorsSupermarketsTescoJustin KingBanks and building societiesQuantitative easingJapanShinzo AbeEconomicsTim CookLord BrowneLGBT rightsBusinessSun, 02 Nov 2014 00:05:13 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/nov/02/people-power-not-enough-regulator-punish-businessesPhotograph: Andre Penner/APShinzo Abe will decide by the end of the year whether to increase sales tax again.Photograph: Andre Penner/APShinzo Abe will decide by the end of the year whether to increase sales tax again.Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Murdo MacleodSeven years ago, and in a very different industry, Lord Browne’s coming out was a shattering experience.Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Murdo MacleodSeven years ago, and in a very different industry, Lord Browne’s coming out was a shattering experience.Photograph: David SimondsDavid SimondsPhotograph: David SimondsDavid SimondsGuardian Staff2014-11-02T00:05:13ZAmerica stems the flow of funds – just as China stalls and the eurozone risks going backwardshttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/26/us-funds-china-eurozone-quantitative-easing-janet-yellen-recession
Janet Yellen of the Fed is winding down its quantitative easing programme, but might she soon have to wind it up again?<p>There is growing unease as the US central bank prepares to turn off its printing presses. Over five years the Federal Reserve has pumped almost $4.5 trillion into the US economy, in a desperate effort to counter the effects of recession and the collapse of hundreds of banks following the financial crash.</p><p>Next week the Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen will allocate the last tranche of new money, having wound down from a regular $85bn of quantitative easing (QE) a month to a final $15bn.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/26/us-funds-china-eurozone-quantitative-easing-janet-yellen-recession">Continue reading...</a>Quantitative easingEconomic growth (GDP)US economic growth and recessionEconomic policyEconomic recoveryAmazon.comRoyal MailEurozone crisisAngela MerkelMario DraghiJanet YellenBusinessEurozoneSat, 25 Oct 2014 23:05:40 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/26/us-funds-china-eurozone-quantitative-easing-janet-yellen-recessionPhotograph: David Simonds/ObserverJanet Yellen is about to turn off the Federal Reserve's QE taps. Illustration: David Simonds for the ObserverPhotograph: David Simonds/ObserverJanet Yellen is about to turn off the Federal Reserve's QE taps. Illustration: David Simonds for the ObserverGuardian Staff2014-10-25T23:05:40ZSomething's got to give in Italy: better it be Draghi with a bag of cheap loanshttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/aug/10/mario-draghi-eurozone-italy-quantitative-easing
Things are looking bleak for Italy. With no growth and no inflation it and other eurozone countries need an injection of quantitative easing to help them weather reforms and sanctions<p>European Central bank boss Mario Draghi came to London last month to criticise his fellow Italians. In an <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/jul/26/euro-irreversible-mario-draghi-ecb" title="">unusually candid speech to an audience that included Bank of England governor Mark Carney</a>, he lambasted his fellow countrymen for wanting Brussels to become a &quot;transfer union&quot;, in which debts were pooled. It was, he argued, a brazen attempt by Rome to offload its enormous public sector liabilities on its more solvent neighbours.</p><p>Draghi is one of many senior European policymakers who believe that southern European governments are lazy and corrupted by easy credit. It's a view he shares with Germany's finance minister Wolfgang Sch&auml;uble – Brussels' paymaster. Without making a direct reference to Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi's administration, Draghi said austerity and reform forced nations to grow up and realise they must work for a living and stop relying on loans to pay the bills. He and Sch&auml;uble want Renzi to stick to plan A.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/aug/10/mario-draghi-eurozone-italy-quantitative-easing">Continue reading...</a>Eurozone crisisEuroEuropean monetary unionEconomicsEuropean Central BankEuropeItalyMario DraghiEconomic recoveryQuantitative easingSat, 09 Aug 2014 23:05:38 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/aug/10/mario-draghi-eurozone-italy-quantitative-easingObserverClick to enlarge. Photograph: ObserverObserverClick to enlarge. Photograph: ObserverGuardian Staff2014-08-09T23:05:38ZMario Draghi needs a new trick to help the euro recover: quantitative easinghttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jan/12/mario-draghi-euro-recover-quantitative-easing
The ECB president's high wire act worked brilliantly at keeping the markets on side, but with deflation looming, it's time for something else<p>Roll up, roll up! Come and thrill as Mario Draghi defies death. Hold your breath in wonder as the maestro wobbles his way along the high wire. With no safety net, can Draghi make it from one side of the big top to the other?</p><p>No question, Draghi is a class act. There have been a few wobbles, a bit of dicing with disaster, the odd gasp from the audience, but somehow he has stayed aloft. For the past 18 months, the president of the European Central Bank has kept the financial markets sweet and bought Europe's politicians time to sort out the deep structural problems of the single currency. In the main, he has done so by using words alone, and he has made it look easy.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jan/12/mario-draghi-euro-recover-quantitative-easing">Continue reading...</a>Eurozone crisisQuantitative easingEconomicsEuropean banksFinancial crisisEuroBusinessEuropean Central BankMario DraghiEuroStandard CharteredBankingBob CrowTrade unionsSun, 12 Jan 2014 00:04:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jan/12/mario-draghi-euro-recover-quantitative-easingObserverDavid Simonds Draghi 12.01.14 Photograph: ObserverObserverDavid Simonds Draghi 12.01.14 Photograph: ObserverGuardian Staff2014-01-12T00:04:04ZWhat price forward guidance when markets move faster than the Bank?http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/sep/22/forward-guidance-markets-faster-bank
Unlike the Fed, Threadneedle Street is sending mixed messages, with no policy action and a fudged inflation target<p>Central bankers have feet of clay. That was the clear message from the surprise decision by the Federal Reserve to shelve plans to start withdrawing its colossal monthly stimulus to the US economy. Ben Bernanke, the Fed's chairman, may have thought that he had communicated his thinking clearly to the markets, but the announcement came as a bombshell to an unsuspecting Wall Street.</p><p>So, if there is a lesson to be learned from last week's shenanigans, it is that providing &quot;forward guidance&quot; to the public is a lot more difficult than it looks. That applies to the Fed, and it applies to the Bank of England, because the conduct of monetary policy in the UK is looking even more confused than it does in the United States.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/sep/22/forward-guidance-markets-faster-bank">Continue reading...</a>Bank of EnglandFederal ReserveQuantitative easingMark CarneyBen BernankeEconomic policyEconomic growth (GDP)Interest ratesBusinessCo-operative GroupIain Duncan SmithRail transportSat, 21 Sep 2013 23:05:44 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/sep/22/forward-guidance-markets-faster-bankObserverCartoon by David SimondsEPAMark Carney: businesses and individuals have been more willing than the City to take him at his word. Photograph: EPAEPAMark Carney: businesses and individuals have been more willing than the City to take him at his word. Photograph: EPAGuardian Staff2013-09-21T23:05:44ZCarney must use all weapons at his disposal if he's to propel recovery into the stratospherehttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jul/28/mark-carney-weapons-recovery
Forward guidance is more of a communications technique than a solution. Good, then, that Mark Carney is talking of a mixed strategy for boosting the economy<p>Mark Carney will will need more than a couple of quarters of modest economic growth before he can sit back and put his feet up. The lantern-jawed Canadian was hand-picked by George Osborne to run the Bank of England because he is what the chancellor calls a &quot;monetary activist&quot;; and Carney has made it clear that he won't rest until the economy achieves what he calls escape velocity – which probably means something a bit more impressive than 0.6% quarterly growth in GDP.</p><p>Carney has been positively hyperactive since taking over on 1&nbsp;July, not least placating feminists by promising to put Jane Austen on the tenner. He evidently made a strong impression on his fellow monetary policy committee members too, persuading all of them at their July meeting to fall in behind the idea of holding off on a new round of quantitative easing, and instead issuing a firm statement warning the markets that they had got carried away in expecting interest rates to rise within the next two years.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jul/28/mark-carney-weapons-recovery">Continue reading...</a>Bank of EnglandMark CarneyEconomic growth (GDP)Economic policyInterest ratesQuantitative easingAnglo AmericanBusinessSat, 27 Jul 2013 23:05:31 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jul/28/mark-carney-weapons-recoveryObserverClick to enlarge. Photograph: ObserverObserverClick to enlarge. Photograph: ObserverGuardian Staff2013-07-27T23:05:31ZNew Canadian broom sweeps away cobwebs at Bank, but US impact is harder to brush offhttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jul/07/business-leader-mark-carney-bank-of-england
With a souped-up Flickr account and a stern message for market players, Mark Carney has made an impressive start at the Bank of England, but the US will show the limits of his power<p>What a breath of fresh – Canadian – air at the Bank of England. Who knew the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street had an <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bankofengland/with/9181365079/" title="">account on photo-sharing site Flickr</a>? Actually, it has had one since 2011, but until this week the most exciting entry was a picture of a lilac-suited Queen Elizabeth looking at some gold bars. Other than that, it was all charts and mugshots of officials. Then came Mark Carney.</p><p>The new governor's first day brought a flurry of pictures portraying him beaming for the cameras as he arrived for work – even though he reportedly braved a commute on the London Underground – and striding down corridors, briefing papers in hand.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jul/07/business-leader-mark-carney-bank-of-england">Continue reading...</a>Mark CarneyBank of EnglandEconomic policyBusinessQuantitative easingEconomicsInterest ratesBP oil spillCo-operative GroupSun, 07 Jul 2013 14:16:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jul/07/business-leader-mark-carney-bank-of-englandObserverIllustration by David Simonds.Bloomberg via Getty ImagesMark Carney came across as collegiate rather than cocky in his first week. Photograph: Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBloomberg via Getty ImagesMark Carney came across as collegiate rather than cocky in his first week. Photograph: Bloomberg via Getty ImagesGuardian Staff2013-07-07T14:16:00ZCan Carney keep a lid on booms and bonds at the Bank of England?http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jun/30/carney-bonds-and-booms-bank-of-england
The incoming governor is going to have a busy week, and may find he doesn't have as much control here as he did in Canada<p>Most people are happy to keep a low profile on their first day in a new job while they work out where the photocopier is and how the phones work. Mark Carney, however, is inviting in a television crew.</p><p>It won't be an easy induction. With financial markets in a funk, and the economy in an even deeper hole than we thought, judging by <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/jun/27/uk-avoid-double-dip-recession-ons-data" title="">the statisticians' latest pronouncements</a>, Carney will need to roll his sleeves up.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jun/30/carney-bonds-and-booms-bank-of-england">Continue reading...</a>Mark CarneyBank of EnglandQuantitative easingEconomicsInterest ratesBusinessBarclaysEnergy industryFrackingSun, 30 Jun 2013 08:11:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jun/30/carney-bonds-and-booms-bank-of-englandObserverClick to enlarge. Photograph: ObserverObserverClick to enlarge. Photograph: ObserverGuardian Staff2013-06-30T08:11:00ZWe know why HBOS collapsed, but not the secrets of its disastrous rescuehttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/apr/07/hbos-collapse-lessons-disastrous-rescue
The stricken lender saw and ran itself as a 'challenger bank' – just like the ones the government is hoping will enter the market now<p>There is a shocking story that has still not been properly told. It concerns how the Halifax, a staid former building society, and safe-as-houses Scottish institution Bank of Scotland could embark on a &pound;30bn merger and collapse just seven years later – with all of that value completely wiped out – into the arms of Lloyds, with a &pound;20bn injection from the taxpayer to prevent it crashing.</p><p>The parliamentary commission on banking standards <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/apr/05/hbos-bank-that-couldnt-say-no" title="">made a good stab at it last week</a>. The trio at the top – Lord Stevenson, the bank's chairman &quot;from its birth to its death&quot; and successive chief executives Sir James Crosby and Andy Hornby – were roundly blamed for the colossal failures that led to its collapse.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/apr/07/hbos-collapse-lessons-disastrous-rescue">Continue reading...</a>HBOSBankingBanking reformFinancial sectorLloyds Banking GroupEuropean Central BankMario DraghiQuantitative easingJapanMarc BollandRetail industryMarks & SpencerBusinessSat, 06 Apr 2013 23:05:49 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/apr/07/hbos-collapse-lessons-disastrous-rescueObserverMurdo Macleod/ObserverHBOS: still some secrets to reveal. Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the ObserverMurdo Macleod/ObserverHBOS: still some secrets to reveal. Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the ObserverGuardian Staff2013-04-06T23:05:49ZWe should spend more on energy, less on defence. And Centrica should say sohttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/mar/03/case-more-spending-energy-less-defence-centrica
The owner of British Gas should be leading the debate on domestic energy security, not just relentlessly focusing on corporate enrichment<p>Centrica should have an important role to play in the debate over Britain's future energy security but has disenfranchised itself in the eyes of the public by concentrating on short-term financial gain.</p><p>Its chief executive, Sam Laidlaw, says it is important that the group, which owns British Gas, makes a &quot;fair and reasonable return&quot; so that it can continue to make its contribution to society and to invest.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/mar/03/case-more-spending-energy-less-defence-centrica">Continue reading...</a>CentricaExecutive pay and bonusesUtilitiesEnergyEnvironmentEnergy industryTax and spendingTax avoidancePoliticsQuantitative easingBank of EnglandBusinessSun, 03 Mar 2013 00:04:09 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/mar/03/case-more-spending-energy-less-defence-centricaObserverDave Simonds defence 03.03.12 Photograph: ObserverObserverDave Simonds defence 03.03.12 Photograph: ObserverGuardian Staff2013-03-03T00:04:09Z